


hold me when I cry

by SailorChibi



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Age Play, Antonia Stark - Freeform, Baby!Tony, Cuddling, Diapers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Infantilism, Pacifiers, Platonic Cuddling, Protective Bucky Barnes, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Daddy Issues, baby girl tony, bottles, daddy!Bucky, non sexual age play, non sexual infantilism, tony likes to age play as a baby girl, uncle!steve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-21
Updated: 2016-05-21
Packaged: 2018-06-09 17:22:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6916438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorChibi/pseuds/SailorChibi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Baby girl,” Bucky said with a sigh, crouching down so that he was on level with her. “You know that when you feel little and Daddy’s not here, you’re supposed to go see Uncle Steve.”</p><p>Antonia’s eyes focused on him slowly and immediately filled with tears. “He was busy,” she said, voice holding a quivery note that broke Bucky’s heart. “Sparring with ‘Tasha. I didn’t want to interrupt.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	hold me when I cry

**Author's Note:**

> This was a commission for anon, who wanted Tony age playing as a baby girl with Bucky as his daddy.

Sometimes Bucky really enjoyed being a part of the Avengers. Other times, like this one, he didn’t like it at all. One glance at Natasha and Clint told him that they were feeling the exact same way. Not that there was any surprise: it was pretty hard to feel happy when you were covered in some purple goo that smelled _disgusting_. The three of them combined smelled like a sewer filled with rotting food on a hot, sunny day. When the elevator doors closed, Clint actually started to gag.

“Oh my god… JARVIS, hurry,” he wailed, hands flying up to his nose.

“The elevator is going as fast as it can, Agent Barton,” JARVIS said, and Bucky didn’t think he was mistaking the hint of amusement in the A.I.’s tone. 

The doors opened and Clint and Natasha spilled out onto the communal floor, racing each other to the bathroom and nearest shower. Bucky opted to hold his breath and suffer the ride up to a more private floor. Their clothing would need to be burned, and, as soon as he stepped out of the doors, he stripped naked and shoved his suit into a garbage bag to be disposed of later. 

He didn’t bother looking around for Steve or Tony; he went straight to the bathroom and took the hottest shower he could bear, shampooing and soaping himself repeatedly, thankful for the tower’s never-ending supply of hot water. After four full washes the goo was gone, but he couldn’t tell if he still smelled or if the scent was just burned into his nostrils. He switched the water off, grabbed for a towel, and wrapped it around his waist, sulking into the living room still wet.

“Steve? Tony?” he called out, looking around the living room. He spotted a cocoon of blankets on the couch and changed direction. “Hey, can you smell me?”

Normally, that would’ve opened the door for a perfect comeback: either something sarcastic or a pick-up line, depending on how Tony was feeling at the moment. But the lump on the couch didn’t move or speak. Bucky frowned and circled around so that he could see Tony’s face. He sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of glassy brown eyes and the pouty lips sucking at a thumb, and knew immediately that this wasn’t _Tony_ he was dealing with.

“Baby girl,” he said with a sigh, crouching down so that he was on level with her. “You know that when you feel little and Daddy’s not here, you’re supposed to go see Uncle Steve.”

Antonia’s eyes focused on him slowly and immediately filled with tears. “He was busy,” she said, voice holding a quivery note that broke Bucky’s heart. “Sparring with ‘Tasha. I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“You can always interrupt. I guarantee you that he won’t mind,” Bucky said, wiggling a hand into the blankets until he could stroke her hair. Steve might’ve been busy, but he suspected that the real reason for the reluctance was both embarrassment and insecurity. Tony still struggled with a lot of shame over this, no matter how many times Bucky held him and told him it was fine. And he still seemed to think that Bucky, that all of the Avengers, were going to wake up tomorrow and deem the whole situation too weird to deal with.

Fat chance that was going to happen. Bucky had known about this for years, long before he ever became an Avenger. He didn’t remember everything about his time as the Winter Solider; that was still a work in progress. But he did remember, with perfect clarity and deep horror, the time that he was ordered to follow Tony Stark around. The order to kill had never come, but in the meantime Bucky had witnessed Tony putting on an old green dress and sitting down to play with little kid toys on two separate occasions.

So much had changed, but that hadn’t. Except now Bucky was a part of it – also a work in progress, but they were slowly getting there – and Antonia was finally getting the care and attention she craved. He stopped petting her hair, earning him a whimper of discontent, and readjusted his towel until he was sure it would stay. Then he stood up and swung her into his arms, blankets and all.

“C’mon, darlin’,” he drawled. “Let’s get you into a diaper, okay?”

“Don’t need one,” Antonia said, pouting. 

“That’s not up for negotiation,” said Bucky. He would do just about anything to put a smile on his little girl’s face, but not that. He’d woken up to find a sobbing baby and soaked sheets too many times for that. 

He set Antonia down on the bed and quickly shimmied into a pair of pants before he returned and unwound the blankets. She was stark naked underneath, which surprised him. Tony usually had difficulty going into his headspace unless he put a dress (and now, a diaper) on. It did happen sometimes that Tony would slip, but it hadn’t happened for a while. Bucky looked up at her with a frown.

“Did something happen this morning?”

“No,” Antonia said, which was such a bald-faced lie that Bucky raised his eyebrows.

“You know that we have a rule about lying. I’ll give you that one ‘cause you’re tired, but I’ll ask you again and I want you to re-think your answer before you say anything. Did something happen this morning?”

Antonia’s eyes began to fill with tears again. “Happy asked Pep to marry him.”

“Aw, honey,” Bucky said as she started to cry. He set aside the diaper and crawled onto the bed with her, pulling her into a hug. She buried her face in his chest and shook with sobs, like she’d been holding it in all morning and was just now getting the chance to let it all out. 

This was a problem Bucky couldn’t fix, and he _hated_ that. Normally Antonia’s biggest problems were a wet diaper or an empty tummy or a lost toy, all things that Bucky could and did fix. He lived to make Antonia happy; the way she’d smile and reach up for a hug when he walked into the room never failed to make him warm. He couldn’t stand it when she was upset, but this was an all new level and he couldn’t do anything but lay here and hug her tightly. 

“I should be happy for them, Daddy,” she wailed. “I’m a bad girl.”

“No, baby, no. You’re not bad. You could never be bad. Listen.” Bucky cupped her tear-stained face and looked deep into her eyes, willing her to understand. This was a talk they’d probably have to have multiple times, but it didn’t hurt to start now.

Antonia hiccupped, tears still rolling down her cheeks, and she stuck her thumb in her mouth and looked up at him with wet eyes. 

“Pepper’s your friend, princess. She loves you. You love her. I bet sharing this news with you made Pepper a little sad too. You shouldn’t punish yourself for feeling sad because of such a big change. And you definitely shouldn’t punish yourself for being little,” he added firmly. “You know that I’m here whenever you need me. I love being your daddy.” He swiped at the tears on her face.

She was quiet for a few seconds, then she sniffed and said, “Daddy, can I have some hot chocolate?”

“Of course. I bet Uncle Steve would love to make you some of his special hot chocolate. Let’s just get you dressed, okay?” Bucky sat up. “JARVIS, could you let Steve know what’s up?”

“Of course, Sergeant Barnes.”

“Thanks.” He stood, looking down at Antonia, and tried to smile. “Hips up, there’s a good girl.” He slipped the diaper under her, sprinkled on some baby powder, and fastened the diaper shut. “Want to help me pick out a pretty dress for you to wear?”

Antonia nodded. Bucky walked over to the small, secondary closet in the room and opened it, revealing an array of pretty, colorful dresses. He and Steve had made it their mission to buy Antonia as many dresses as her heart desired. 

“What do you think?” he asked, brushing the back of his flesh hand against the soft fabric. 

“Purple,” Antonia said softly.

“Purple it is,” Bucky said, not surprised in the slightest. In terms of favorites, the purple dress was right up there with the old green one. It was a sundress with a full skirt, cut low enough to show the arc reactor, and Antonia loved spinning around until she got so dizzy she had to sit down.

He took the dress off the hanger and returned to the bed. Antonia raised her arms so that he could slip the dress over her head. It fell into place, no zippers or buttons necessary, and her thumb went right back to her mouth. She didn’t smile like she usually did.

“Want some clips for your hair?”

She shook her head.

“Okay. I agree, you look beautiful the way you are. C’mere, scamp.” He scooped her up, heart aching at the way she curled into him, so sweet and vulnerable, and turned to grab the matching purple pacifier off the nightstand. “Open up.”

He slipped the pacifier into her mouth and adjusted his grip, carrying her across the room and into the elevator. JARVIS took them down to the communal floor without being prompted. Steve was waiting for them in the living room by himself, two mugs and a bottle of hot chocolate on the coffee table. Antonia immediately stretched her arms out to him for a hug. Bucky set her in Steve’s lap and then sat down beside them.

“We’re having a hard day,” he explained to Steve, even though Steve hadn’t asked, and picked up the bottle. He could tell it was exactly the right temperature, and his affection for Steve deepened a little more. 

“So I see.” Steve hugged Antonia tightly. “Would a movie help?”

Antonia opened her mouth, letting the pacifier fall out. Bucky caught it neatly as she said, “Little Mermaid?”

“I think that can be arranged,” said Steve. He had to be groaning inside – Antonia was obsessed with Disney movies, and they’d all seen them multiple times. But he didn’t let it show.

Bucky passed Steve his mug of hot chocolate, then picked up his own. He leaned against Steve’s shoulder and held the bottle up. Antonia wiggled around until she was sprawled across Steve, her head on Bucky’s arm, and opened her mouth for the nipple. She began to suck at the bottle, half-lidded gaze focused on the television as the familiar strains of music began, and Bucky breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

For now, at least, his baby was content.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on [tumblr](http://tsuki-chibi.tumblr.com/).


End file.
